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Some ancient tales say that the literal Chinese name "Black Steed Mountain" stems from its resemblance to a horse whilst others that the name arose during the Shang and Zhou Dynasties because the "Black Steed Tribe", lived in this area. Another legend cites the mountain as the place from where the goddess Nüwa, creator of mankind, repaired the wall of heaven. This is where Qin Shi Huang was buried along with 8,000 terracotta warriors and clay masonry.

In 1936, Kuomintang (KMT) leader Chiang Kai-shek arrived in Shaanxi Province and stayed at Huaqingchi. His ostensible mission was to eradicate the local Communists and warlords but instead he was kidnapped whilst hiding in a crevice on Li Mountain in what became known as the Xi'an Incident. After the incident, the KMT government built the simple "Minzu Fuxing Pavilion" (民族复兴亭) at the foot of the crevice in commemoration.

The building was reconstructed using steel and concrete in 1946 with the relevant funds subscribed by students of the Whampoa Military Academy in Guangdong. It was renamed the "Zhengqi Pavilion" (正气亭) with inscriptions in the building eulogizing Chiang authored by senior KMT officers.

After the 1949 Communist victory, the pavilion was for a time called the "Seizing Chiang Pavilion" (捉蒋亭), finally adopting its current name of "Bingjian Pavilion" (兵谏亭; literally "stern advice backed by force") in 1986. Both terms refer to the Xi'an Incident.

Today, Li Mountain National Forest Park is a national level protected site and an AAAA rated tourist attraction classified as a cultural and historic monument.